Champions

After a short wait the Tigers have done it again. For all of you outside Japan, I'm talking about the Hanshin Tigers, who yesterday won the Central League Pennant and are now off to the Japan Series.

I always like to compare the Tigers to the Mets because they are kindred spirits in many ways. The Tigers were a team that lived in their former glory for 18 years until the 2002 season when their, at the time, new manager Senichi Hoshino took over and excitement filled the fans.

The fans, though, were forced to wait another year until 2003 when the Tigers returned to the Japan Series to face the Softbank (then Daiei) Hawks. While Hoshino, and his uncanny popularity, did wonders for the team, he retired due to health issues at the end of the post-season and the Tiger lost the series 4-1. In 2004 the current manager, Akinobu Okada, took over and lead them to a terrible year, finishing 5^th out 6 and reminding fans of the years they waited for a revival.

Fortunately again they didn't have to wait long, for after a great season, on Thursday night the Tigers clinched the Central League Pennant and paved their way to the 2005 Japan Series to meet either the Hawks again, the Seibu Lions or the Chiba Lotte Marines.

The Tigers are well known as the Osaka team, even though Osaka has had a team, the Osaka Buffaloes, for a long time. A time honored tradition of fans was to jump in the heavily polluted Dotonbori Canal after successful important games. This caused some safety issues and the death of one man in 2003, thus access to the water has been cut off and the Osaka police, who are usually known for doing fuck-all and impounding bicycles, deployed 2,500 men to the bridge to control the situation.

The Japan Series is coming up from October 22^nd - 30^th.

Wisdom of the Day: Keep an eye on the underdogs

The Arrival of Fall

The arrival of Fall was signaled today by the cool breeze blowing through my open this afternoon and the recent fall in the humidity level. As I have said in the past, Osaka is well known in Japan for its unbelievably hot, humid summers. Instead the past few days have been filled with cool breezes, overcast skies and slight drizzles.

This comes with a collective sigh from the people of Osaka. No longer must we stand on the crowded Midosuji line and enjoy a strong whiff of that beloved Japanese B.O. (which can get especially bad in an area called Den Den Town, which is filled with discount electronics stores and people who don't bathe enough).

This also signals the end of my last summer in Japan. As confirmed by the lovely Maki at Kintetsu International, I will leave Japan on November 2nd, leaving many lonely faces and broken hearts. Sorry my friends, but it's nearly time to move on. Only forget me if I owe you money.

Wisdom of the Day: It worked! Use it!

Plug-In

For quite a long time I have felt that Microsoft Word is the premier word processor on the market. Now I can get as unhappy with Microsoft as the next guy, but Word is easy to use, has lots of features, and thanks to the 3rd party developer community, lots of plug-ins.

Today, I'm trying blogspot's newest plug-in for Microsoft Word that should allow to post without opening up a browser window. Since I haven't done this yet as of this writing I'm not sure how this will work with my HTML enhancements to my blog, but in a few minutes I'll find out.

Anyway, if you don't have a blog or are thinking of starting one, or have one, this should make things a lot easier. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Wisdom of the Day: MS ain't all bad, just kinda bad.

Full Moon Party

The main reason we visited Koh Samui when we did was to attend the September Full Moon Party on the nearby island of Koh Phangan.

The Full Moon Party is a huge beach party, consisting of anywhere from 10,000-20,000 people doing all manner of things from dancing, smoking, drugging, fouling around, etc. It is scheduled to occur at the end of a lunar cycle, thus coinciding with the full moon phase. The beach itself is lined with a large number of bars and club all pushing out tons of music, mostly drum and bass and some house and dance, while large numbers of people spill out of the already crowded clubs and dance and fall into the sand.

I got very drunk and got lost but met a number of people from about 20 different countries, like Germany, Israel, China, Australia, England, Ireland, Brazil, Argentina and a few more I can't remember. The drink of choice is the bucket. A medium sized plastic bucket which is filled with ice, one pocket sized bottle of alcohol, and something else like soda or Red Bull. These are then filled with 3-7 straws and designed to share with your friends.

Other highlights included fluorescent body paint, I had the kanji (it's the first one) for my name painted on my right bicep, all manner of fried food, a huge clubbing house and speedboat access to and from the island, which was good for making some already drunk girls very sick, watch your feet!

I'd love to go in more detail about the party, but I just don't remember enough. If you Google the Full Moon Party you can find tons of other people's blogs giving more information and pictures. If you go, have a blast, but watch out later on in the evening as the beach tends to get filled with all manner of glass bottles, broken and unbroken and I did cut the sides of my ankles, which I didn't realize until I awoke the next day.

Wisdom of the Day: Being drunk is no excuse for not keeping the beach clean

DreamGirls

Almost spelled September wrong! Anyway, no discussion about a trip to Thailand would be complete without at least some mention of the thriving sex industry. Thanks to my friend's perseverance, I have some interesting information.

The main thing that is different about the sex trade there is the openness. From the staff, the prostitutes, even the locals, are very candid and open about it. No code or secrets are necessary, very plain language is used in the ordering and negotiation. It seems that this practice is somewhat excepted and forgotten in society's collective eye. The most interesting place we visited one night while clubbing was what appeared to be a strip club named DreamGirls. But, what you find inside is completely different.

DreamGirls more resembles a car showroom for women. The complex consists of a large room with a bar, and many levels of seating all centered on a large platform raised about 4 feet in the air. The outsides of the platform contain 4 poles, while in the center is a sort of rotating pole merry-go-round. On the poles you will find some girls dancing, though not naked but rather in skimpy clothing, which changes in theme from night to night, I saw sailor costumes and bikinis. Most of the men are simply enjoying the show, while some decide to at least start off the night by talking to a girl, which will cost you about 4 bucks, you should also buy them a drink.

While the majority of the men seemed to enjoy talking or watching, for another $15 you can leave with the girl and then pay her about $60 for an hour of private conversation in the venue of your choice. Don't forget to tip. I also found out that the bar itself has upper accommodation for those who don't want to leave the bar.

It's critical to understand that this isn't adult entertainment, that's why the girls aren't naked, it's, rather, a showroom for the bar's product. Still, during my time, I saw few girls get called to talk and ever fewer leave with a patron. Still an interesting place to visit and recommended, especially for any feminist visitors you happen to be low on outrage that particular day.

Wisdom of the Day: Airline rates and fuel surcharges aren't supposed to make sense

Negotiation

Negotiation is an art form, and never has it been so much required as with shopping in Thailand. Bare in mind that there are two types of shops in Thailand: first is your standard corporate franchise, which wants nothing to do with your tactics; second is the more traditional Thai open and semi-open market shop, in which negotiation is a vital part of your shopping skill set, unless you like being ripped off.

The basic idea is that the shop will hit you with a rather high opening price and it's your job to bring it down. Originally this was a bit of an issue for me, as I didn't know what was a reasonable price to offer, but I discovered very quickly that if you give a price that's too low, they will let you walk away. Pricing is also based on the rule that if one shop asks for 300bat as an opening offer and the next asks for 150bat, you know the real price is somewhere around 50bat.

And don't forget to be tough. These people will try to be your friends but all they want to do is rip you off. Even at a price that seems low to you, they are making a profit, so don't worry if they complain.

While in Koh Samui, I was able to watch a master in action. He usually starts off by laughing at the opening price and giving his own offer of around half the original opening price. This is followed by the usually bargaining and some lines I wouldn't have thought of, including: this price is good for me and good for you; he's a nice guy; it's my first time in Thailand/Koh Samui; today's my birthday (which was actually the truth for Doug and he used this a lot on that day); he's got a nice face, c'mon; etc..

The master pushed, joked, laughed, pulled, bargained and got every price he wanted, while having no doubt that the shop staff was making a profit but not ripping him off. The one rule he kept in mind was that any clothing or shoes you buy in Thailand will last about 6-8 months, based on usage, and therefore, isn't worth paying so much for. This is already evident by the Diesel shorts I bought which I wore twice and are mysteriously starting to turn green, they were originally black.

Wisdom of the Day: What's good for you might not be good for me

Pictures Not Included

Well, I'm back from Thailand and I had a blast. I wish I had more time, but four days and five nights was enough for now. The vacation consisted of mostly relaxing on the beach or by the pool and partying, with a little shopping thrown in for good measure. The next few posts will be about my various experiences there, ending finally with the pictures as soon as I get them. I used my friend's cameras and now I'm waiting for the pictures via email.

Today I wanted to talk a little about the hotel we stayed at: The Jungle Club. The Jungle Club is not like your usual hotel. Situated on the top of a small mountain near Chaweng Beach in Koh Samui, the Jungle seaks to emulate the feel of a real jungle. This is accomplished by placing your bungalow or villa in the middle of the real jungle surrounded by all the normal jungle comforts which frequently visit the inside of your room and scare the shit out of you in the shower. These comforts include ants, flies, mosquitoes, spiders, big spiders, salamanders, really big salamanders, bats, birds, the occasion chicken and some other assorted insects I can't readily identify. But, you can't complain, because as Doug says: it's the jungle experience.

The atmosphere is very quiet and relaxed and the pool must be seen to be believed. The main part of the resort features a beautiful partially covered outdoor bar and restaurant which had some of the best food I tried on the island. The green curry was especially good, as where the French fries! The owner, It, has a penchant for music and was constantly spinning good tunes. I spent almost two days sitting in the hammock and reading.

The only down side to this lovely experience was the fact that since the resort is on a mountain, you have to take a 4WD vehicle up to the top. Usually the staff is there to help you out, but occasionally when you are too drunk to call them you can climb it yourself, which I did, in the dark, while being chased by the local's dogs. Not recommended.

Wisdom of the Day: it's a jungle out there!

Live from Koh Samui

Well, I made it. I'm here on the lovely, hot island of Koh Samui in Thailand. The food is great, the women are beautiful and the hotel, called the Jungle Club because we are in a jungle on top of mountain where bats occasionally fly in the open roof of your villa, is lovely. The view is also quite spectacular and I intend in to have a number of great photos up here when I return home.

The ride up to the hotel is great. Because of the steep, ditch filled unpaved road, you are taken in up in a rebuilt 4WD vehicle where you ride in the back and hold on for your life. Mom wouldn't like it!

Now, Doug is taking us to get our feet cleaned and pedicured.

Wisdom of the Day: It's a jungle, deal with it.

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA! Your present is coming in the mail via the Thai post office, just as soon as I send it!

Here I Come!

In just a few hours I'll be on my way to Thailand.
I'll try to blog from there until I get back. In the meantime enjoy the previous posts or the homepage: Jedicraft.net

See ya soon!

Wisdom of the Day: Get more than a few hours sleep before flying...

The Beginning and the End

Grocery shopping occurred once again today. Sunday is usually my only holiday in the whole week and it's also the only day I go grocery shopping, so I can stock up my refrigerator for week and not have to touch a food store for a while.

Anyway, today while roaming the identical frontiers of the local Kansai Supermarket, I was hit with a startling burst of inspiration. My further roaming of the store and my memories of past visits, as well as previous employment at Key Food in Brooklyn, I have come to realize the universal truth: all life begins and ends in the supermarket. Roam around any supermarket anywhere in the world and tell me what you see the most of. Preserved foods, nah. Frozen-once living items, try again. Freeze-dried somewhat edible food-like things, NO! You will find two things: old people and little children. It seems the pull of the supermarket is so instinctual, so deeply engraved in our minds genetically that we, during our young and elder years, must seek it out and have it consume us as well take in the essence that is the Super-Market.

I was so amazed at this theory that I felt I was not the only one to have discovered it, so using my good friend Google, I searched and uncovered a number of startling facts. The symbiotic relationship between the supermarket and children and old people has been discovered by more than 20 scientists over the course of the past 35 years. There also seems to be a correlation between the size and scope of the Tower of Babel with the number of supermarkets required within a 20 mile square radius of the land within a sovereign nation's borders.

As I'd like to learn more, a major problem permutes this study, namely that fact that most of the scientists involved in the research have died from mysterious circumstances, such as thirst, constant masturbation, Dukes of Hazzard overdose, being healthy and most mysterious of all: Streptococcus Pneumoniae Trigycernictal Mendosal Yaphisatomy. The ones who are still living seem to have vanished from public life in an attempt to hide from the people many believe are hiding this information.

While the organization's official designation is unknown, many believe they are also responsible for perpetrating the hoax leading many to believe that is unhealthy and possible fatal to eat raw uncooked pasta. I will continue to research this topic and post again when I have more information.

Wisdom of the Day: When you think......who keeps knocking at the door?

The Shopping Mall

I get many emails asking me the difference between Japan and America. Suffice it to say that the difference is not as great as many hope. I was further convinced of this truth during my visit to the Diamond City Shopping Complex in the southern part of Osaka prefecture known as Sakai City. Literally the only difference between this shopping mall and any other one I've been to in the US is that it's filled with Japanese people and is slightly more expensive. Oh, and there's no Macy's or Sears.

This particular Diamond City was about 5 stories high, but not quite as long as your standard American Mall. Inside you will find many of the same shops, including Eddie Bauer, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, Tower Records and a ton more I can't remember right now. Even the ones that weren't names I recognized looked and sold goods that resembled more western culture than anything here in Japan. Also, for an added bonus the Mall had a massive supermarket/department store complex add-on called Jusco. Very cheap Oil Olive! Everything was amazing new, clean and the place had an air as if the staff really cared about it. I imagine if one was truly race-blind, one couldn't tell if they were in Japan or a western country, it's that much alike.

Wisdom of the Day: Sales are a universal truth

The Bicycle Returns!

Okay, in retrospect, the guys at the bicycle
impound weren't the motherfucking cocksuckers I made them out to be in my post on
Sunday. They were actually quite nice and helpful. The
impound itself turned out not to be as far from my house as I said back in June when my last bike (which I found out has since been crushed from scrap) was impounded.

And the whole process was actually pretty quick and painless. I filled out a quick form, paid my money and off I went. This doesn't mean I'm in any rush to visit again, I'm just saying I was wrong about the people who work for this establishment. And also, did I mention how easy it was? Anyone need a bicycle? Go ahead and visit the impound, they don't seem to check anything.

Now, as for the politicians who set the laws for this ridiculousness….

Wisdom of the Day: All the other ones are parked illegally as well

Gunner Palace

One of the most known, and few, documentaries to come out about the war in Iraq (the second war in Iraq, or is this the third, please direct questions to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld), Gunner Palace tells the story of the 2/3 Field Artillery, a.k.a. "The Gunners" who were based in the former, and bombed out, pleasure palace of Uday Hussein.

The movie tries at best to remain as politically neutral as possible, save for an opening including a speech from Rumsfeld set against the troops suffering in the heat, which seems to serve as a weak attack against the Bush administration; although the soldiers themselves occasionally speak out against equipment issues, strange with the $200 billion already spent on this war.

The heart of the movie is showing the soldier's feelings throughout the film. A general feeling throughout the movie seems to be a fear of IEDs. Some of the more interesting comments include one soldier saying he no longer felt like he was serving his country, but he was still proud to be a soldier; another saying that the normal everyday American watching the film with his popcorn and getting ready to return to his 9-to-5 job the next day can't understand what it's like to be there; a soldier starting to get over the fact that he has killed his enemy in order to survive and he's right because he's following orders; one said he didn't fire gunfire or RPGs, but rather the IEDs because they could be anywhere or anything, but usually garbage which is tough because the whole country is one big heap of garbage; one solider said that the Iraqi forces can't be trained because they don't give a shit and are only in it for the money; and Specialist Stuart Wilf (who was one of Time's persons of the year and had a terrible accident upon returning home resulting in medical bills the army is refusing to pay):

"If you see any politicians be sure to let them know that while they're sitting around their dinner tables with their families talking about how hard the war is on them, we're here under attack nearly 24 hours a day, dodging RPGs and fighting, not just for a better Iraq, but just to say alive."
-April 10 ^th, 2004

Wisdom of the Day: A good writer is made that way from his experiences, not from what he sees on TV and what he hears from others

Kobe Wine

Given to me from the lovely men at Hitachi GTS, makers of hard disk drives of all sizes, I felt the need, the other evening, to enjoy this bottle of Japan grown and bottled wine with a friend. Phil, who is always one to help you in situations of this type, was kind enough to stop by and help me enjoy it. First a little information:

Japan, unlike many other wine producing countries, has neither the climate nor land area to produce grapes that are very suitable for wine production. Having said that, Japanese grapes are noted for their large size and high sweetness level, something which makes Japanese wine sweeter than its colleagues. The history of Japanese wine is long and interesting. This site explains in more detail about it and the interesting problems faced in making this wine.

The bottle I received resembled a blush, rather than the red I usually prefer. Our thoughts:

Phil: this wine is rather light and easy to drink. It has a touch more sweetness than I usually prefer but it complements the Yoshinoya gyudon I had for dinner nice so I have to recommend it to anyone in my situation.

Nick: lighter than I'm used to, but this wine does down smooth. A little too sweet as well. I actually found it tasted more like a flat grape soda than wine. I have to agree with Matsumura at Hitachi, Japan just isn't suited for wine production. I highly recommend the local rice wine (Nihonshu) instead.

Wisdom of the Day: Never look a gift horse in the mouth

Doom

After a rigorous round of Halo for the Xbox, I sat down in front of my computer to see the latest trailer for the movie Doom. I was shocked, but before I present my opinion, a little history:

I have been playing First Person Shooter (FPSs) games since the very beginning of the genre. I played the original Wolfenstein3D on an Intel 386 machine back in elementary school. I played lots of network Doom with my best friend Brendan in high school. I kicked ass in Quake 2, Unreal Tournament through university and most recently Halo for the Xbox. I haven't had enough time to get into Halo 2 multiplayer (something I intend to rectify when I return home). Basically, nearly all of the famous, groundbreaking FPSs that have been released are in my library and I have finished the single player and played some of the multiplayer.

But there is one thing I never considered, simply because it seemed like such a stupid idea that no one would do it. I never considered to turn an FPS into a movie by filming it like the game. In the new movie Doom, starting the Rock and Karl (I'm King Eomer) Urban, has been done mainly from the perspective of the eyes of Urban, which means on screen you see his gun and hands, and everything from his perspective, including him reloading his weapon.

Now I'm all for doing this for a minute here or there as a homage to the game, but from the preview and behind the scenes video I saw it seems that something like 70% of the movie is filmed this way, except for the occasional scenes where the camera jumps out to film everyone; which is the style in which most single player FPS campaigns play.

The creatures as well seem to have been created using the same models from Doom3, just run through an ILM filter. And let's be realistic, Doom never had a groundbreaking story, they probably should have done Half Life instead.

I have no problem with watching game-to-movie adaptations, but this is a bad idea. Even though there's nothing I like better than watching someone else play an FPS...

Wisdom of the Day: This movie is gonna suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck...

Cameron Duncan

While I am a little out of date with this information, I still feel it's something everyone who is reading this should be aware. I feel this so strongly, in fact that I'm pushing other posts out of the way for this. This hasn't been posted to talk about the environmental dangers or cancer or anything like that, it's just to make sure that more people know this man's story.

Cameron Duncan was a 17-year old New Zealand filmmaker, and an extraordinary one at that. While he had finished many, many clips and short films, his most incredible work was Strike Zone, a short film about a softball winning a championship. This blurb doesn't even scratch the surface of the meaning and power of this film, but rather than summarize the film more, I'd prefer you watch it. If you happen to have the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Special Edition DVD, check out the last disc. On there contains a short documentary about Cameron's life, his work and his story.

On November 12, 2003, Cameron died from lung cancer. It was the end of a two year battle which he fought bravely while still doing some of his most impressive work. His films and work were amazing, and I have no doubt that he would have exceeded what he did in the past and would have been a hard to beat actor/director in the film scene.

I write this partly because originally I was going to skip this final part of the DVD and replace it in its case and probably never watch it again. So, if you have this DVD, than watch this documentary and amazing short film. If you don't then I recommend you buy it, if not for Cameron, than for the unbelievable 4+ hour cut of RotK which while it's long I consider better than the theatrical version.

Wisdom of the Day: If Cameron and Lance have taught us nothing, it's that being tired is no excuse

Again...

Warning: the following blog post contains language that is unsuitable for children under the age of 15, people with a heart condition, small pets, somewhat large pets, cholerically challenged people, people easily offended, people with no sense of humor, people who don't know me, and people who haven't had this happen before.









THE MISERABLE MOTHERFUCKERS IMPOUNDED MY FUCKING BICYCLE AGAIN!!!! CHICKEN-SHIT FUCKING PUSSY ASSHOLES!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET A FUCKING JOB AND LEAVE MY BICYCLE ALONE!!!! IF I SEE THAT TRUCK ONE MORE TIME I'M GONNA BLOW IT THE FUCK UP!!!
AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wisdom of the Day: AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yakiniku!

Originally a Korean BBQ dish, Yakiniku is a Japanese word meaning grilled meat. And oh the meat you get! Near my house, in the fabulous Bentenchou, is this restaurant called Yakiniku Ooishii (Delicious Grilled Meat).

This restaurant is good because it's what the Japanese call Tabehodai, or ALL-YOU-CAN-FUCKING-EAT! You sit down and just start ordering meat, which is brought raw on a platter. Then you cook the meat on your own private grill. After which you eat and repeat the above steps. Yakiniku Ooishii offers three types of beef, two types of pork, chicken, hot dogs, liver, assorted other cow parts, rice, wakame soup and cabbage. While the all-you-can-eat part only lasts 80 mins, you'll eat plenty, trust me.

Did I mention it only costs like 20 bucks a person?

Wisdom of the Day: Only visit this place once a month

September Heat

September is supposed to signify the beginning of the end of the summertime heat. While it usually stays somewhat warm in Osaka during this month, today was unbelievably humid, especially after something like nearly two weeks of somewhat mild summer weather. The weather report officially raised the subway smell alert (Chikatetsu Kusai Rating) to high after nearly it was left around elevated for a while. Remind me to buy some new clothespins.

I also want to note that this is the end of my last summer in Osaka. And, as much as I like to sweat so much all my clothes are soaked by the time I have walked two blocks from my apartment, I will probably miss summer here. Japanese girls dress so well in all seasons don't you agree?

Last week's post featured some bad English I accumulated during my time roaming the streets of Osaka, but this site does it better. Enjoy!

Wisdom of the Day: The fried food group isn't real